By Michael Huckabee, Ph.D., professor and director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center Division of Physician Assistant Education. Dr. Huckabee has 30 years’ experience as a physician assistant, mostly in rural Nebraska.
A co-worker asked me, “Why is my hip buzzing?”
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She was relaxed, sitting in a side chair but could point to a small spot on her thigh that was spontaneously tingling. She said it would come and go, a few seconds each time.
“There it is again,” she said, and a couple seconds later, “now it’s gone.” She stretched her leg, massaged the area and waited.
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“There it comes again.”
She wanted to believe it wasn’t anything grave; not cancer, not a blood clot. The sensation was so unusual that she couldn’t help but wonder if something serious was going on.
I asked if she had her cell phone. No, it was in the other room. I asked her if it felt like her cell phone vibrating. She brightened, “That’s just what it feels like.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” I responded.
Our medical term for this is “phantom vibration syndrome” reported to occur in 68 percent to 90 percent of cell phone users based on recent studies. The colloquial “butt buzz” is for those of us who keep the phone in our back pockets. Innocuous at most, once recognized fears can be dismissed. But that doesn’t make it stop.
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It’s suggested that the nerves in our skin fire off best when the sensation is recognized. That’s why we sometimes feel the bite of a needle more if we watch it enter our skin, as opposed to turning away so our minds are distracted. If the nerves are subtly stimulated by our clothing brushing against our skin when we don’t expect it, the nerves send a signal of something familiar. Since past phone buzzes have triggered a response in the brain, nerves might tell the brain the current subtle sensation is the same thing.
Not surprisingly, people who often use their cell phones in vibrate mode are more prone to phantom vibrations. On top of that, those who are more socially engaged with electronic media are more likely to experience the buzz.
If we respond actively to text messages or calls that vibrate our phones, we’re more likely to feel the phantom buzz. That may explain a related phenomenon for people who use their phones in ring mode. The “phantom ring” is recognized in individuals who experience occasional auditory hallucinations of mysteriously hearing their unique cell ringtone in the absence of the phone.
The cure, if my co-worker needed one, is distraction. Take a walk outside, jive to some music, tell some jokes, or otherwise get the mind completely focused on something else.
The other option is setting the phone aside for long periods. Yeah, right. My co-worker will put up with the buzz, thank you very much.
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